Gelatinizing machine for battery electrolytes



April 7,

J. GRAVES ET AL GELATINIZING MACHINE FOR BATTERY ELECTROLYTES Filed Oct. l0, 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jofizz 67am WEZZzzm fiahraion, Edy/627" J Mike-@7070- April 7, 1925.

J. GRAVES ET AL GELATINIZING MACHINE FOR BATTERY ELECTROLYTES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 10, 1921 Fl l April 7, 1925.

J. GRAVES ET AL GELATINIZING MACHINE FOR BATTERY ELECTROLYTES Filed Oct. 10, 1921 5 Sheets-Shee t. 5

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entries STATES JOHN GRAVES, WILLIAM BALDEBSTON',

.IHISCONSIN, ASSIGNOBS T FRENCH BATTERY AND EDGAEJ. McEACHRON, OF MADISGN, & CARBON COMPANY, OF MADISON,

WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF \VISGONSIN.

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN GRAVES, VVIL- LIADI Bnronnsromand EDGAR J MGEAOH- non, citizens of the United States, residing at Madison, in the county 0 Dane and tate of V-fisconsin, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Gelatinizing Machines for Battery Electrolytes, of which the following is a specification. fhe object of this invention is to provide a machine in which it is possible to produce electric dry batteries with unwrapped cores by the gelatinization method, rapidly uniformly and cheaply; thereby greatly reducing thecost or manufacture and consequently the price to the user."

The invention consists in such a machine, operatable by a so arranged that a very small floor space is required to accommodate the numerous operators while the materials worked upon only have to travel comparatively short distances thereby promoting efiiciency. e invention further consists in a machine h ing the foregoing advantages which can e easily and cheaply made, efiicient in operation and is not v readily liable to get out of order and still more particularly in features and details of construction which will be hereafter more fully set forth in the specification and claim.

deferring to the drawings in which like numerals designate the same parts thruout the several views,

Figure 1 is a p view of this invention in its preferred form.

Figure 3 is a sectional end view considerably enlarged taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Figure a lan and Figure 2 a side is a rear view of the left hand portion of Fig. 1 taken in the direction of the arrow 1 of Fig. 1 showing particularly the driving mechanism.

Figure 5 is anenlarged sectional end view on the line 55 of Fig. 1.

Figure 6 is an end elevation of the right hand end of the machine taken on the lines 6-6 of Fig. 1.

Figure 7 is a the method of actually batteries.

Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11 are views of of the batteries to be made by the aid diagrammatic View showing manufacturing the parts of GELATINIZING 'MACHIIITE FOR Application filed'October 10, 1921.

large group of operators,

one form of mechanism illustrating BATTERY ELECTROLYTES.

Serial No. 506,913.

the machine showing successive operative steps.

In these last the usual can of a dry able electrolyte which gelatinizes or assumes a thick pasty consistency during the manufacture of the battery; 24L is a core of depolarizing material having embedded therein a car on electrode'26 whose upper end projects above the upper endof the core; 28 is a separator member in the form of a disc of rather stiff flexible parafin paper secured to the lower end of the core as by means of a suitable adhesive; 30 is a centering wash er in the upper endoI the device. In making this battery a separator 28 is first stuck to the bottom of the core 2 and placed in can 20 (Fig. trolyte 22 is poured in (Fig. 10) and the washer 22 is positioned (Fig. 11). Ihen the electrolyte is gelantinized by introducing the cell of Fig. 11 into water of a temfour figures 20 represents cell; 22 18 a suit- 9), the elecperature of about. C. for a very short successful operation it is essentime. For tial that the gelatinization take place very of the elecpromptly after the introduction trolyte into the cell. y

The machine by which these operations may be promptly and efficiently performed on large quantities of batteries in a compact floor space will now be described.

' Extending at intervals along the central axis of the machine as shown in Fig. 1 are a plurality of rectangular upright frame members 32 having lower ends or feet 32" resting on the floor 34 or the like. Some eight of these frames are shown, but any convenient number may be provided as required. In the upper portion of the frame is located a dry horizontally movable con veyor belt 36 traveling over suitably disposed end pulleys 39, at the receiving end of this belt, and 88, at its delivery end, and

intermediate supporting rollers 10 an 42 for the lower or operating side of the belt.

Mounted in the upright frame members I below the belt 36 and generally parallel thereto is what will be for convenience referred to as a wet belt 4L6 carried on driven pulley 48 at the receiving end or" the belt and pulley 49 at the delivery end. The upper or operating side of wet belt d6 is near its receiving J rollers 50 and 52 suitably mounted to cause the belt to duck down and travel thru hot water tank suitably supported in the upright frames betv-ween the upper and. lower portion of belt The operating part of the belt is, in traveling thru the tank kept in approximately horizontal position by a plurality of sustainingrollers (Fig. 2) which extend entirely across the belt at intervals along the tank. At. the delivery end the bolt is still held down in the tank by short shaft rollers 58 mounted on suitable side brackets 60 so arranged that the clear space62 is left be tween them as shown in 1 so that a battery 20 on the belt in e l ried up to portion 46" oi belt 41-6 at the right hand end thereot as shown in Fig. 7 to a point outside the tank beyond the supporting roller until it becomes portion 46 of the belt adjacent to the side tables 66 onto which the cans a l conveniently removed to delivery ta' P eferably but not necessarily the batteries are switched oil from the belt tion d6 at this ing device 68 which, 111 the particular case here illustrated, takes the form of an angular guiding members secured in place as shown in 1.

Power mechanism is provided for causing the operative portions of belts 36 and 16 to travel in opposite directions at about the same speed. In the particular case here illustrated this result is accomplished by going to the opposite end of the machine from table 66 and there providing the shaft 70 upon which the adjacent pulley 88 is carried and tl e shaft 72 on which the adjacent pulley 48 is carried with suitable gears driven from a suitable source or powor. In the particular case here illustrated shaft 70 carries a worm gear Tat meshing with a worm 6 on vertical shaft 78 suitably mounted on the frame of the machine there being on the lower end of this shaft a bevel gear 80 meshing with a corresponding bevel gear 82 on a horizontal shaft 8 1 conveniently located adjacent to shaft 72 so that the gear shaft will mesh with a worm 88 on shaft 84. Power is applied to the gear and shaft mechanism described at any convenient point as for instance the pulley 00 on shaft When power is so applied the 86 a d '74 rotate at approximately the same speed depending on the ratio of the gears 80 and 82 or other gear mechanism in the device with the result that the two belts 36 and l6 travel scribed.

Sui ably mounted poras deon opposite sides of belt end, passed over guiding of the tank point by a suitable switch 86 on the latter.

at its receiving end (right hall of Figure 1) are aplurality of separated operators station tables 92 each equipped with suitably heated paste pot S t by the use of which operators at these stations are enabled to stick the cores 2-1- to the separator members 28 and thus assemble the parts of the battery as far as is shown in Fig. 8. The tables are so located that on c mpleting such operation particular operator can put the finished product onto the lower or operating half of belt 86 as diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. i" and elsewhere.

The mechanism for heating the 94 is in detail immaterial. form of the use of Bunsen plied with gas thru hand valves 100, the the burner by source.

Conveniently located on opposite sides of the machine and in the left hand half there of in Figure 1 adjacent to the receiving end of belt 46 are a plurality of separated o erators ables 102 preferably located as shown in the drawing on the level of the top v These siderably stronger than tables 92 and have their outer ends supported by suitable legs 10%: braced at 106 as shown so as to conveniently support upstanding can bins 108 adapted to deliver empty cans 20 thru downwardly inclined chutes 110 onto the table 102 in convenient position so that an operator standing in the space 112 provided for him between the tables 102 can readily take a can from the table, place a core 24 de livered by the belt 36 therein pour in the liquid (from a source not shown) and after positioning washer 30 put the completely assembled battery onto the receiving portion paste pots 11; may take the burner 96 supgas being supplied to any suitable conventional of belt in tank 54 in the position shown in the left hand half of Fig. 7. If desired two operators standing on opposite sides of the table 102, one of them principal and the other assistant, may perform different parts of the operation by putting the'core into th: can'and putting the can into the tank.

Along the bottom of tank 54 is a. steam coil 11a or other suitable heating mechanism conventionally heated in the particular case here illustrated with steam through pipe. 116. The heat given out by this steam coil or other heating mechanism keeps the water 118 in the tank sufficiently warm so that before the finished batteries travel through the tank they are properly gelatinized.

ll hen the finished battery has reached the table 66 it may be removed by an operator located at this point.

Owing to the fact that the battery core 26 and separator 28 have to be secured together y paste or some other method involving the use oi the dry equipment and that the can heating is obviously 1 wet operation and the tables 102 are conpipe 98 controlled by belt 46 never has a chance to dry, it is necessary to have two separate belts. In this machine these two separate belts are mounted to do the necessary carrying in a minimum floor space, the operators are all conveniently arranged so that they can work etficiently and be conveniently supervised and directed when so doing. In actual practice a machine having ten operator stations on each half of the belt device and two operators at table 66 has handled sixty thousand cells as last described in ten hours, an impossibility otherwise.

Having thus described our invention what we claim. as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: i

A machine for facilitating the assembly of electric cells having a gelatinous electrolyte, comprising a pair of superimposed coni' eyor belts, means for driving said belts in opposite directions, a. heating medium through which the upper reach of the lower belt is arranged to travel, a group of operator stations near one end of the machine where the cells are partially assembled and placed on the lower reach of the upper belt to be conveyed to the other end of the machine, said operator stations including tables disposed substantially at the level of the lower reach of the upper belt to facilitate transfer of the partially assembled cells to said lower reach, and another group of operator stations near the opposite end of the machine where the partially assembled cells are removedL from the lower; reach of the upper belt, completely assembled and placed on the upper reach of the lower belt to be conveyed through said heating medium, said last mentioned operator stations including tables disposed substantially at the level of the upper reach of the lower belt.

In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names.

JOHN GRAVES. WILLIAM BALDERSTON. EDGAR J. MoEACHB-ON. 

